Debt as far as the eye can see. Then, the new President wants to blithely throw troops into a war that's probably hopeless. North Korea can't feed its people, but the Dear Leader's slaves can build nukes, and some missiles; and the Land of the Kims is about to thumb its nose at Obama and everybody else by playing rocket games. Meanwhile, China has its own stimulus problems.
Still, Ben Bernanke's in a good mood, so stocks go up 230 points or so. This would seem to place an awesome responsibility on Bernanke's restauranters of choice, his wife, his family, his barber, masseur and others charged with keeping him happy. Hey, it's good that some people in this world know what they have to do.
The market's down 3oo or so on Monday. Up 230 today. Nothing whatever has changed, except Bernanke's in a good mood, and St. Barack's going to grace our televisions with a speech. Woo Woo! Life is good.
The secret, dear reader, is that the "leaders" - the movers and shakers who run our money and are charged with our security -- know less than NOTHING about whatever the Hell they think they're doing. They're a herd of leaderless cows ready to moo because Bernanke had a good wine with lunch and was happy today. The bears will just as easily stampede them tomorrow.
Is it any wonder that people think that the Harvard MBA types in charge of the money in this country are absolute total dolts and morons?
If you're not angry yet, you're not paying attention.
5 comments:
There's something to be said for a good wine at lunch. ;)
Oh, I'll definitely drink to that...and have.
Lots of blame to go around but the person one should be angry with is not Bernanke, but Alan Greenspan. He spent his waning years at the FED immeshed in financial minutia but was absolutely clueless about the ever inflating housing prices. Anyone reading a newspaper's business section from 2002-2007 knew this. When asked about it Greenspan repeatedly relied "Bubble, what bubble?"
I don't disagree MGK. I'm not so much angry at Bernanke (certainly among the greatest practicing historical experts on the Great Depression and the 1930's economy) -- as I am gobsmacked at how people who should know better hang on his casual comments. The captains of the economic ship seem as clueless as the engine-room stokers.
I agree with you on Greenspan and the housing bubble, but I wonder if he just didn't see it coming, or had decided NOT to see it coming. . .
"...gobsmacked at how people who should know better hang on his casual comments...."
This is a longstanding phenomenon. People hung on Greenspan's comments, on Volcker's, etc. It's irrational, but it didn't start with Bernanke.
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